The latest victim of the Ebola virus isn’t a human, but it’s one we hold rather near and dear: Chocolate.

That’s right, the spread of the Ebola virus has caused the Ivory Coast—the largest chocolate producing nation in the world—to shut its borders with both Liberia and Guinea, locking out migrant workers from those nations who pick the cacao beans. Both Liberia and Guinea have been hit hard by the virus that has infected more than 8,000 people, killing nearly half.

While there have been no reported cases of Ebola in the Ivory Coast, the disease’s impact is enough to cause the country to take safety measures, and that could raise chocolate prices around the world.

“In the countries’ efforts to block the movements of people to limit the spread of the disease, governments have set up roadblocks and limited traffic, a strategy that has also isolated and shut down farming operations,” reports Politico.

Now, the World Cocoa Foundation has recruited many of its 113 members, according to Politico, in order to help keep chocolate production flowing in the region, and hopefully abate price hikes at retail. “Morristown, N.J.-based Transmar Group, an international cocoa supplier, already has pledged $100,000, and Mars has indicated its support, too,” reports Politico.

The Ivory Coast produces about 1.6 million metric tons of cacao beans per year, “roughly 33 percent of the world’s total,” reports Politico. And the Ebola scare has sent cacao prices jumping from a normal range of $2,000 to $2,700 to as high as $3,400 last month.

Chocolate manufacturers are working to educate their employees and support their growers and pickers in the field, but “there are still some fears out there,” Jack Scoville, an analyst and vice president at the Chicago-based Price Futures Group told Politico.

Keep in mind though that most of the chocolate coming out of the Ivory Coast goes into mainstream chocolate candy products like M&M’s. Not only is this chocolate loaded with excessive sugar, dairy and other unhealthy ingredients, but it promotes unfair labor situations as well. You can seek out Fair Trade and organic chocolate products that are healthier for you and the planet.

Nothing says awkward quite like a giraffe walking into a restaurant while you're trying to enjoy dinner. But that's just what happened in South Africa. We won't lie; giraffes are hella cute, especially when just aimlessly strolling. And even though this happened in a wildlife park, it still illustrates the absurdity of our footprint on nature. And how ridiculously tall giraffes are.

Nothing says awkward quite like a giraffe walking into a restaurant while you’re trying to enjoy dinner. But that’s just what happened in South Africa. We won’t lie; giraffes are hella cute, especially when just aimlessly strolling. And even though this happened in a wildlife park, it still illustrates the absurdity of our footprint on nature. And how ridiculously tall giraffes are.

Slow cooking takes on new meaning with the innovation known as the Wonderbag.

No relation to the Wonderbra, Wonder Bread or Wonder Woman, the Wonderbag is a slow cooking technique that actually allows you to cook with a reduced use of energy. It’s designed primarily for developing nations, but it’s also perfectly suited in the modern kitchen.

So what makes Wonderbag so wonderful?

The Huffington Post reports that founder Sarah Collins developed the cordless, power-free, gas-free product to work like this:

You start anything you cook in the Wonderbag on the stove (recipes range from beef stew to oatmeal to greens and beyond), bringing your pot to a boil for around five minutes. Turn off the heat, seal the pot and pop it in the Wonderbag for your desired amount of time. A tender beef stew will take about four hours, but you can leave your food in the Wonderbag for up to 12 hours without it falling below a safe temperature.

Pretty innovative, right? And yet, so simple. It’s kind of a wonder that slow cooking fanatics hadn’t figured this one out sooner.

The Post’s Rebecca Orchant reported success with her own recipes in the Wonderbag. (We haven’t used one, yet.)

And what’s even more wonderful about the product: All U.S. purchases through Amazon gives another Wonderbag to a family in Africa. That’s pretty inspiring, and we’re guessing it will make your dinner taste a whole lot more wonderful.

They don't call him the Lion Whisperer for nothing. But you have to see Kevin Richardson in action to believe it. His relationship with lions is so intimate that only GoPro could get close enough to capture the beauty of being a member of the pride. Enjoy.

They don’t call him the Lion Whisperer for nothing. But you have to see Kevin Richardson in action to believe it. His relationship with lions is so intimate that only GoPro could get close enough to capture the beauty of being a member of the pride. Enjoy.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently lifted a ban on DDT to provide relief in countries with high malaria rates. The mosquitoes may be gone, but what's left behind? Scientist Michael Skinner decided to take a closer look at the genetic impact of DDT, specifically whether it can be linked to obesity and related diseases in the next generation. What he found isn't promising.

While the U.S. no longer blankets agricultural crops with DDT, use of the poison is actually on the rise in some parts of the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently lifted a ban on DDT to provide relief in countries with high malaria rates. The mosquitoes may be gone, but what’s left behind? Scientist Michael Skinner decided to take a closer look at the genetic impact of DDT, specifically whether it can be linked to obesity and related diseases in the next generation. What he found isn’t promising.

Skinner and his team injected pregnant rats with DDT, and then studied their children and grandchildren to see the impact of exposure.

“Is there a correlation between the fact that we were all exposed to DDT in the 1950s for 10 years, and the fact that we are now seeing high levels of obesity?” Skinner asked in an interview on Grist. His work suggests the answer is yes.

There’s a trend toward obesity in nearly every species on the planet, according to Skinner, so it has to be more than just fast food and lack of exercise. Chemicals could be linked to weight gain.

“I do believe that the observed obesity is real,” emailed Andrea Gore, a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Texas Austin, reported on Grist.Other experiments have already shown that endocrine-disrupting chemicals can cause obesity generations after exposure, Gore said. BPA and high fructose corn syrup have both been tied to weight gain as well.

There’s a period during gestation where exposure to chemicals can also cause genetic changes. According to the study, “Observations indicate ancestral exposure to DDT can promote obesity and associated disease transgenerationally.”

Concerns over indoor spraying of DDT to fight malaria are growing because it exposes humans to far higher concentrations than agricultural spraying. As a result, the health hazards associated with spraying DDT indoors are much more serious than when it’s sprayed on crops. A study published in Environmental Health Perspectiveslinked DDT to breast cancer, diabetes, infertility, and impaired brain function in children.

A recent study conducted on behalf of the Aid by Trade Foundation has assessed the ecological footprint of the Cotton made in Africa Initiative as being considerably smaller than cotton grown elsewhere in the world.

A recent study conducted on behalf of the Aid by Trade Foundation has assessed the ecological footprint of the Cotton made in Africa Initiative as being considerably smaller than cotton grown elsewhere in the world.

Less than 2 kilograms of greenhouse gases are released per kilogram of by cotton made in Africa lint, according to the study, compared with conventional cottons that can emit as much as 4.6 kilogram per kilogram of cotton lint. And the CmiA production causes no emissions from mechanical equipment versus conventionally grown cotton, which emits an average of 34 percent of emission from mechanical energy. Greenhouse gas emissions from CmiA were reduced by 70 percent and saved 18,000 liters of water per kilogram of cotton lint compared to conventional crops grown in Pakistan.

Conventional cotton is one of the crops most heavily sprayed with pesticides. In the U.S. genetically modified cotton makes up more than 80 percent of all cotton grown. India has also been inundated with GMO cotton—which has led to hundreds of thousands of farmer suicides as a result of poor crop yield and resulting inabilities to pay companies like Monsanto for royalties owed over use of its patented seeds.

The CmiA Initiative, which receives funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as well as government partners, works throughout African to help farmers achieve sustainable income. According to the initiative’s website, “it does not send donations to Africa; it works to establish stable demand in the world market for sustainably grown cotton.” The Aid by Trade Foundation works to build a network with clothing retailers around the world to buy the CmiA product at a market price, but also pay a licensing fee to the Foundation for use of the CmiA label.

To combat the issues brought about by global warming, 11 African countries are now building what's being called 'The Great Green Wall'—a 4,300 mile long and 9 mile wide stretch of trees across the continent from Senegal to Djibouti, reportsthe Guardian.

To combat the issues brought about by global warming, 11 African countries are now building what’s being called ‘The Great Green Wall’—a 4,300 mile long and 9 mile wide stretch of trees across the continent from Senegal to Djibouti, reportsthe Guardian.

Across Africa, many noticeable effects of global warming are being felt: the Sahel is drying out due to lack of rain and overgrazing, contributing to desertification, which now affects 40 percent of the continent; 1,000 miles from the Sahara, desert sand is visible in the air; the rainy season in Senegal that once began in July now appears in September; and threats of losing more than two-thirds of the continent’s arable land in the next decade to desertification is posing serious issues for the growing populations across Africa.

Scientists and environmentalists believe the Great Green Wall will bring more rainfall, ultimately replenishing Africa’s water table and help to block sand drift from the Sahara, keeping the desert from spreading any further. Already, two million trees are planted every year in Senegal, reports the Guardian, bringing shade, food for humans and animals, medicines and gardens: “For the project to succeed, it was crucial to plant trees that would also provide benefits for people living here. The government has ambitious plans for planting more trees but the Great Green Wall is also a development project, aimed at helping rural people.”

Lifting Africa out of poverty and helping the continent combat issues including loss of land to climate change and rampant hunger, organizations including The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the G8’s New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, have been introducing controversial biotechnology and genetically modified crops to Africa. Countries including Kenya, Egypt, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Mali, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Ghana have all begun trials and /or deregulation of GMOs.

Claiming that the continent of Africa is to this century what North America was to the 19th, U2 front man, Bono, has become one of the biggest supporters of the recently announced G8 initiative that's sending $22 billion dollars in aid, supplied mostly by multi-national corporate conglomerates, to "lift Africa out of poverty" over the next ten years. One of the biggest tools being leveraged in this plan will be the use of controversial agricultural practices—mainly non-native genetically modified crops and the accompanying pesticides—under the moniker The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition. Companies that have pledged their dollars and support through NAFSN include: DuPont, Monsanto, Cargill, Syngenta, Kraft and Unilever.

Claiming that the continent of Africa is to this century what North America was to the 19th, U2 front man, Bono, has become one of the biggest supporters of the recently announced G8 initiative that’s sending $22 billion dollars in aid, supplied mostly by multi-national corporate conglomerates, to “lift Africa out of poverty” over the next ten years. One of the biggest tools being leveraged in this plan will be the use of controversial agricultural practices—mainly non-native genetically modified crops and the accompanying pesticides—under the moniker The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition. Companies that have pledged their dollars and support through NAFSN include: DuPont, Monsanto, Cargill, Syngenta, Kraft and Unilever.

According to the White House, the G8’s announcement of NAFSN represents the “next phase of our shared commitment to achieving global food security.” Under the guise of working with Africa’s leaders to develop transparent policies for food security, in his G8 speech, his ONE organization’s blog, his interview with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell, and in an article he wrote for TIME magazine aptly titled “The Resource Miracle,” Bono repeatedly and not-so-subtly hints to the wealth of minerals laying just underneath the feet of Africans. Be they precious metals, gems or even (god help us) more oil—the message is a simple one to decode: Feed Africans and they will make you lots of money. (Besides, the Chinese are already over there doing it.)

If history is any indicator, what has happened to other areas of the developing world when genetically modified organisms are introduced as a means to sidestepping poverty, malnutrition and disease—is no miracle. Hundreds of thousands of Indian cotton farmers have (and continue to) commit suicide because of failure to meet crop yield expectations and pay Monsanto for what is effectively a highly faulty product. More than 5 million Brazilian farmers are currently in the midst of a lawsuit tangle with Monsanto over unrealistic royalty expectations on crops including genetically modified soy and corn, which have quickly outpaced the growth of non-GMO crops in the South American country, but at a cost the farmers claim was misrepresented and unrealistic. Not to mention that the rapid growth of GMOs in Brazil have been intrinsically linked with irreparable destruction of the Amazon rainforest and the vital species and cultures that have thrived in the world’s most important ecosystem since it first sprouted eons ago. Hybrid Monsanto seeds given to post-earthquake Haiti failed to produce and led to uprisings in the streets and protestors burning Monsanto seeds. Even here on American soil, farmers repeatedly find themselves struggling to meet yield expectations, battling Monsanto lawsuits over seed-saving or patent infringement if crops drift from neighboring farms, all while pests and weeds become more and more resistant to the harmful pesticides that the farmers were told they’d be able to decrease use of over time.

Over the last three decades, Bono has built a reputation as a humanitarian, an environmentalist, a responsible artist. He helped build the ONE organization, which according to their website, is “a grassroots advocacy and campaigning organization that fights extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa.” He and his wife were pioneers in environmentally-friendly clothing that encourage ethical trade in Africa (Edun), and even his band’s music has come to overtly encourage listeners to live compassionate, authentic and joyful lives—overcoming personal and global transgressions together.

Intending to combat the extreme conditions in Africa—drought, blights, poor soil quality, etc—the NAFSN roster of corporations continually makes claims that GMO crops can handle these very issues, when similar circumstances repeatedly prove otherwise. Which is why it’s most confusing that Bono would be so vocal about supporting such controversial agricultural methods. When the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced support of biotechnology, it was disheartening, yes, but almost expected. But Bono was once the voice for the counterculture. He encouraged rising against the forces—political or corporate—that won’t ever really take anyone’s best interest to heart, no matter what kind of pandering they do. So why isn’t he supporting organic farming and the further development of empowering community models like Fair Trade—both of which have shown tremendously effective and long-lasting results—instead of faulty, toxic and greedy mechanisms like genetically modified crops?

In his TIME article, Bono writes, “If I’ve learned anything in more than 25 years of making noise about this stuff, it’s that partnership trumps paternalism,” but that’s exactly what he’s supporting: a paternalistic corporate-political blunderbuss of misinformation and misguided intentions. Bono once asked the anthemic question, “How long must we sing this song?” Longer still, it seems… longer still.

We love when good people do good things with bad people's bad situations, so we had to share the big story this week involving the elephant-hunting GoDaddy CEO and how rivals Namecheap are making things right. Between that, green cabs in London, and deadly appetizer options, you have a delicious full plate with this week's From Our Friends! Enjoy the articles, and have a great weekend!

We love when good people do good things with bad people’s bad situations, so we had to share the big story this week involving the elephant-hunting GoDaddy CEO and how rivals Namecheap are making things right. Between that, green cabs in London, and deadly appetizer options, you have a delicious full plate with this week’s From Our Friends! Enjoy the articles, and have a great weekend!

1. You may have heard the news this week about the GoDaddy CEO’s elephant hunting antics. Well, the Huffington Post is reporting that domain rivals Namecheap are making strides in balancing out the world by donating more than $20,000 to elephant conservation groups. Amazing.

3. As much as we try to stay healthy and organic at home, there are plenty of chances that we end up in social situations out at restaurants, reaching for the menu’s seemingly smaller, healthier options. Thankfully, The Daily Beast lets us know some of the dangerous appetizers that lurk out there!

4. WholeLiving has some great tips on how to set up some eco-friendly mood-lighting in your home!

5. Low Tech to High Concept: WebEcoist has 3 great ideas for water in Africa!

2011 is shaping up to be a very important and innovative year! Between all-electric cars, amazing animal-inspired inventions, and learning how to deal with the difficult people in your life, there are plenty of great posts from our friends this week that will challenge and inspire you. Here are some of our favorites.

2011 is shaping up to be a very important and innovative year! Between all-electric cars, amazing animal-inspired inventions, and learning how to deal with the difficult people in your life, there are plenty of great posts from our friends this week that will challenge and inspire you. Here are some of our favorites.

1. Do you love Cliff Bars? Triple Pundit posted a great video interview with their president, Kevin Cleary.

2. Joan and Melissa Rivers are going to help you learn how to deal with difficult people, via Intent.

3. Ford has unveiled its first all-electric car! Get all the details at Discovery News.

4. Tonic has posted a great article on how artist Naomi Natale’s activist art project challenges people to create ‘bones’ and educate themselves about atrocities in Africa.

5. You MUST check out these 14 amazing animal-inspired inventions on Webecoist!